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Views in Tamkang
| The Slope of Overcoming Difficulty |  |
| The Overcoming Difficulty Slope is a steep slope made up of 132 stone steps. Built in 1953, it symbolizes “difficulty and hardship”, and was the only path leading to the Tamsui Campus at Tamkang’s inception. It not only represents the school’s resilient spirit in developing the mountain and forest area, but is also symbolic of a larger message: that when faced with difficulties, one must work hard to overcome them by applying the values of “Simplicity, Truthfulness, Firmness, and Perseverance”. It is also a reminder that only with a vigorous and strong body can we strive forward. | |
| The Statue of Mr. Chang Ching-sheng |  |
| As the Tamkang University Tamsui Campus was being built, Mr. Chang Ching-sheng stood at the top of the Slope of Overcoming Difficulty with his son, the Founder of Tamkang University, Dr. Clement C. P. Chang. Holding his son’s hand, he pointed to the spot at which construction was taking place, and said: “This will be the home of our Tamsui Campus!” Shortly after, Mr. Chang Ching-sheng fell ill, and on January 29, 1951, he passed away. To commemorate his father, whom he sorely missed, Dr. Clement erected a statue of his father in the spot at which they had stood years earlier, when the Tamsui Campus was first being built. Premier Yen Chia-kan, who later became President of the Republic of China, wrote four Chinese characters “Kung Tsai Tsuo Jen” to pay tribute to Mr. Chang Ching-sheng for his great sacrifice and devotion to education. Premier Yen’s hand writing was engraved on the pillar-base of the Statue of Mr. Chang Ching-sheng. | |
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The Chinese Palace-style Classrooms
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Built in 1954, the Chinese palace-style classroom buildings are architecturally modeled after Chinese classical palaces with green roofs and red walls. They were the starting point for the building of permanent classrooms at the Tamsui Campus.
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The University Commons
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| Situated in front of the Ching-sheng Memorial Hall is the University Commons, a grassy quadrangle home to Tamkang club gatherings, major annual events and the memories of thousands of Tamkang alumni. In the center of the quadrangle is a statue, which was built and designed in 1986 by Tamkang alumnus and architect, Lin Kuei-jung. The statue takes the shape of four bamboo tablets encircling one another, a symbol of books or “Tzu Juan” in ancient times. These Tzu Juan represent the four qualities of the TKU motto: “simplicity, truthfulness, firmness, and perseverance”. Seen from above, the statue looks like the pivot of a motor, rotating eternally. | |
| The Lee Shuan Che MonumentOn |  |
| December 3, 1976, in a concert featuring mostly Western folk music, Lee Shuan Che, an undergraduate TKU student in the Department of Mathematics, urged the young generation to pass on the heritage of folk songs under the slogan “Sing Our Own Songs.” He initiated a self-enlightenment movement of local folk music that has spread out from Tamkang to the entire island, and has significantly influenced later generationsʼ musical preferences. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Lee’s passing, Tamkang University and the Lee Shuan Che Memorial Foundation created a monument on the Shepherd’s Meadow – a perennially green quadrangle that is one of the students’ favorite spots for campus events. The monument, designed by Wang Hsiu-chi, consists of a guitar-shaped metal structure, along with a boulder that has been carved in two. The epigraph “Sing Our Own Songs”, written by Chiang Hsun, is affixed to one half of the split boulder, as are “descriptive notes” by Chang Ping-huang. Placed between the two halves of the boulder is a concrete block and pebbles, which represent the elements of the land that nurtured Lee, while the metal guitar framework reminds people of his esteemed talent as a songwriter. | |
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Lucky Dolphins Milestone Statue
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Situated in the roundabout at the top end of Lantern Road is this unique piece by well-known contemporary sculptor, Wang Shiu-chi. The dolphins were selected as an auspicious university emblem based on the results of a poll that surveyed students from each of Tamkang University’s campuses. Dolphins are the most agile and intelligent mammals in the ocean. They are endowed with an incredible ability to swim across the four seas. Engraved on the pillar-base of the statue are four phrases that Founder Clement C.P. Chang often quotes to encourage Tamkangians: “Let’s help students establish a firm foothold at Tamkang University”, “Hold the whole world in view”, “Grasp the latest information”, and “Create a brighter future”.
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The Bronze Sculpture of the Five Tigers
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| “The Five-tiger Hill” is the site of Tamkang University’s Tamsui Campus. In Tamsui, the Ta Tun Mountain Range extends down to Hu-tou Shan (“Tiger’s Head” Mountain), which separates into five distinct ridges. Tamkang University is situated on the fourth ridge. The bronze sculpture depicting five tigers embracing one another is a piece by Wang Shiu-chi, which stands in front of the Shao-mo Memorial Gymnasium. It represents Tamkangians’ spirit of vitality, and their sense of vigor and bravery. On the pillar-base of the monument is Founder Clement C.P. Chang’s inscription “The Five-tiger Hill: A Sketch.” | |
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The Tamkang Golden Eagle in the Fu Yuan Garden
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| The Fu Yuan Garden at the Tamsui Campus is home to the Tamkang Golden Eagle bronze statue, a gift from the Golden Eagle Alumni Association as a sign of their gratitude to the alma mater. The location of the statue in the Fu Yuan Garden in front of the Business Building allows students and visitors alike to view and appreciate it. The Tamkang Golden Eagle Award, bestowed to distinguished Tamkang alumni, was initiated in 1987 by two former chairmen of the Board of Trustees of Tamkang University, Dr. Clement C.P. Chang and Mr. Lin Tien-fu. The Award is the highest honor of the university, set up to recognize Tamkangians who have made great contributions to the country, rendered useful services to society, created welfare for humankind, and given something back to their alma mater. The Award is in the form of a golden eagle spreading its wings, symbolizing Tamkangians, like a flying eagle in the sky, majestically overlooking the earth below. | |
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The Global Village Sculpture
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| Installed on the foreground of the Shao-mo Memorial Natatorium Complex are artworks by Yang Ying-feng, a renowned master sculptor from Yilan, Taiwan. The sculptural artworks are shaped to form square, round, and rectangular parts, made from glossy stainless steel, which signify the globe on which a diverse range of people harmoniously live. It represents the vision of globalization that Tamkang University is actively pursuing. | |
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The Rising Sun Above Hsuehshan Tunnel
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| The sculpture portraying the Hsuehshan Tunnel of the Taipei-Ilan Expressway was presented to Clement C. P. Chang in 1990, by “The Association for Promoting Taipei-Yilan Rapid Transit System”, and was designed by the famous Designer Zerman Hu and Lanyang Master-Sculptor Yu Yu Yang (Yang Ying-feng) under the commission of “The Ilan Association, Taipei Chapter.” The sculpture was shaped in the form of an ancient Chinese hieroglyph “山” (shan meaning “mountain”). In the sculpture, the Hsuehshan Tunnel is located at the lower corner on the left of the shan, while at the upper corner on the left is the golden sun, just rising from the Pacific Ocean and shining over Lanyang. The original sculpture was made from gilded stainless steel. Yet to celebrate the completion of the Lanyang Campus and the opening of the Taipei-Ilan Expressway, Arthur Yang – the son of Master Yu Yu Yang – was entrusted with the task of enlarging the original sculpture into a stainless artwork 241 cm high and 270 cm wide. The giant sculpture is installed on the lawn in front of the “Clement Chang International Conference Hall” at the Lanyang Campus, so that Lanyang residents and Tamkang faculty and students, as well as visitors from home or overseas, may appreciate the artwork and pay their respects to the unsung heroes who contributed to building the Expressway. It also symbolizes that Tamkang University, which begins at Tamsui, is connected in heart with Lanyang through the Hsuehshan Tunnel. | |
